Siraj, who returned to his home town Hyderabad last week after India’s T20 World Cup victory, paid a courtesy call to the Chief Minister in Hyderabad

Mihir Shah, who allegedly rammed a couple with his BMW on Sunday, was arrested today, but for the man who saw his wife being dragged under the wheels of the car in front of him and the daughter who saw her mother suffer in the hospital, the action means little to none. “He dragged her (under the wheels) in front of me. There’s no one for us,” said Pradeep Nakhwa breaking down into tears

“We are poor. Who is there to support us or get us justice? Today, he will be sent to jail. Tomorrow he will be produced in court and then he will get bail. He will be released and then this case will be dragged on. Where will we get the money (to fight the case)? How will we hire a lawyer? Who is there for us? Politicians don’t care for us. He (the accused) is the son of a leader. He has money. We have nothing,” said Mr Nakhwa who also got injured in the crash.

Mihir Shah is the son of deputy leader of the Eknath Shinde-led party in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, Rajesh Shah.

“He (Mihir Shah)was arrested three days after the accident. Why was he hiding? If he didn’t do anything, if he didn’t have alcohol or drugs, why did he run? He abandoned the vehicle after the crash, broke the number plate and went into hiding, why? He won’t have any trace of alcohol in his blood after three days,” said Mr Nakhwa.

The fish-seller couple Pradeep Nakhwa and Kaveri Nakhwa was headed home after buying fish from Sassoon Dock early on Sunday when they were hit by the luxury car from behind. The 24-year-old was allegedly behind the wheels at the time while his driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, was in the passenger seat.

Raging with sorrow, Mr Nakhwa wondered why none of the politicians inquired after them: “Has Devendra Fadnavis visited us? Has Eknath Shinde come to our home to know what happened? Is Ajit Pawar here? They only care for the chair. Power has blinded all of them”.

“They only remember us for votes. They forget us after that. Public is garbage for them. They talk about ladli behna yojna. Your ‘ladli behna’ has died,” said Mr Nakhwa, choking up.

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde asserted “no one, whether rich, influential” would be spared if found guilty.

“No one, whether rich, influential or the offspring of bureaucrats or ministers, affiliated with any party, will have immunity as long as I am the chief minister,” he asserted.

CCTV footage produced by police in court yesterday showed Nakhwa being dragged by the car for 1.5 kilometres. It showed Mihir Shah and Bidawat pulling the woman off the engine bay and placing her on the road. They then exchanged seats and mowed her down again while reversing the car.

“She would have been alive today if he hadn’t run his car over her again while reversing,” said her grieving husband.

The daughter, sitting next to her father, said she wants the accused to be hanged, gesturing with her hands.

“She was in a lot of pain. She was badly injured. I saw her at the hospital, she was in a lot of pain. I want justice for her,” she said, crying inconsolably.

The accused allegedly sped away after running over the woman. But the vehicle’s engine stalled after some time. Mihir then allegedly called his father Rajesh Shah from his driver’s phone and told him about the accident who in turn asked him to escape. Later Rajesh Shah planned to tow the BMW from there, an official said.

However, since Kaveri Nakhwa’s husband Pradip and a witness had alerted the police, a patrolling team reached the spot and caught Rajesh and Bidawat.

Rajesh Shah and Bidawat were produced in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Sewree) SP Bhosale yesterday and were remanded in 14-day judicial and one-day police custody, respectively. Shah was charged for allegedly providing misinformation and destruction of evidence.

Rajesh Shah was, however, later granted bail by the court.

A family that was struggling to come to terms with the loss of a 33-year-old who was serving as a Major in the Indian Army suffered another massive jolt when his cousin, 26-year-old Adarsh Negi, was killed in action in the attack on a military convoy in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

“Just two months ago, we lost a son who died serving his country. He was a Major. Now, we have found out that five Armymen from the Pauri-Garhwal region were killed in a terrorist attack on a convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, in which five people from our region have died, including Adarsh,” said the Rifleman’s paternal uncle, Balwant Singh Negi, a resident of Thati Dagar village in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district.

Balwant Negi’s Son, Major Pranay Negi, was serving in Leh and had died on April 30.

Adarsh Negi was among five Armymen who were killed when terrorists attacked a military convoy in the Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Monday afternoon. The terrorists threw a grenade at the Army vehicles, which were on a routine patrol on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar road, about 150 km from Kathua and then opened fire. 

Negi joined the Garhwal Rifles in 2018 and is survived by his father, who is a farmer, mother, brother and elder sister. His brother works in Chennai while his elder sister is married.

Even as wails from women in the family could be heard in the background, the soldier’s uncle continued, “He was a very sharp kid and completed his intermediate from a school in the village. He then studied BSc from Garhwal University. He was always very fit and I told him to maintain his physical fitness, which eventually got him a job in the Army and he has now laid down his life for the country.”

“We have lost two sons in two months. I would request the government to take some strong steps. Employment is scarce and children who go to serve the country from Garhwal and Kumaon often return as martyrs. This breaks the entire family,” he said. 

Adarsh Negi’s father, Dalbir Singh Negi said, “We spoke to him last on Sunday. He said he was having food and was headed for duty. He had come to the village to attend a wedding and left in March.”

Monday’s attack on the convoy was the second on the Army in 48 hours. On Sunday, a soldier was injured when an Army camp was attacked in Rajouri.